The money set aside for the Joint Strike Fighter is more than the Netherlands spends on development aid on a yearly basis. It is also more money than was spent on the Betuwelijn, the new freight railway line from Rotterdam to Germany that went so much over budget that it will now never make a return on investment.
It is the uncertainty over what the Joint Strike Fighter will eventually end up costing that makes its critics draw a parallel with the Betuwelijn.
The Netherlands have so far invested more than 1 billion euros in the development of the American fighter plane.
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Holland, like Australia, is a relatively small country politically, that finds it difficult to resist US corporate and political sales tactics.
ReplyDeleteWhy should Holland buy "test planes"? It doesn't have test ranges or specialised and independent test equipment.
Test planes are merely a Lockheed foot in the door tactic. Test planes are the first in an string of production planes - making the whole "selection" a fait accompli.
Pete